Nico Rosberg takes the “pole” in GP of Mexico

The German Nico Rosberg defeated the Englishman Lewis Hamilton, his teammate in Mercedes and already world champion, by conquering this Saturday the first place in the starting lineup of the Mexican Grand Prix that will be held on Sunday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Hamilton, who last week secured the world championship in Austin (USA), will accompany Rosberg, author of his fourth consecutive pole position and fifth this season, in the front row of the formation, registering a time of 1: 19,480.
“We found a good balance in the session. I have felt very good all weekend, “said Rosberg, thanking the engineers of his team for the work to set the best lap and win the pole.
Rosberg closed with an advantage of 188 thousandths over Hamilton, who at the end of qualifying shook his hand to seal the dominance of the Mercedes in the starting formation, both ahead of the German Sebatian Vettel (Ferrari), who will start from third Market Stall.
The pulse between the Mercedes drivers also marked the last of the three practices of the race, when Rosberg was the fastest with just 14 thousandths less than his partner.
Russian Daniil Kvyat and Australian Daniel Ricciardo, teammates at Red Bull, secured fourth and fifth places for this Sunday’s race, in which some 100,000 fans are expected, a little more than those who entered this Saturday.
The Williams of the Russian Valtteri Bottas and the Brazilian Felipe Massa took the sixth and seventh places, the Dutch Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso), the Mexican Sergio Pérez and the German Nico Hulkenberg, both from Force India, completed the «Top Ten».
The Spanish Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) was eliminated in the second qualifying by just seven thousandths and will start in eleventh place. “It’s a shame, because I stayed very close to Q3, but I no longer had tires,” said the Spanish rider.
Frenchman Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) and Swede Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) were placed behind Spaniard Sainz, after they were eliminated in the second round of the qualifying session.
Spaniard Fernando Alonso (McLaren), who was sixteenth, will start penultimate ahead of his partner, Briton Jason Button, for being penalized with 15 and 25 places for changes in the engine and gearbox.
Rosberg’s pole position has officially marked Formula One’s return to Mexico since, at the 1992 Grand Prix, Britain’s Nigel Mansell took first place in the starting lineup to later win the race.
The race will begin at 1:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. CET / 7:00 p.m. GMT) this Sunday and will be played over 72 laps of the 4,304-kilometer circuit of the Hermanos Rodríguez racetrack in the Mexican capital.